LeeAnn Vaughan has been a science teacher for nine years in Omaha, NE. She currently teaches a tenth- through twelfth-grade honors biotech seminar and bioengineering course at Omaha North (Magnet) High School. As the school's biotechnology coordinator, she created and directs the Biotechnology, Agriculture and National Resources program.
Ms. Vaughan is known as an advocate for the average student—she believes that physics should be taught to all students and not just “elite” students. She has incorporated a curriculum for physics that would allow average students to understand concepts and succeed in the class. Ms. Vaughan motivates students to achieve in physics even when they do not perform well for other teachers or in other subjects. She takes an interest in her students and works with students who face major issues, such as poverty or drug abuse.
As the Future Farmers of America advisor, she has supported the organization in becoming an important force in the school; the organization has developed an agricultural focus within an urban setting. Students who have not had her as a teacher but know her from the FFA respect her immensely and believe she has helped them grow into better individuals.
Ms. Vaughan was the 2007 National Biotechnology Educator of the Year, Morgan Distinguished Teacher of the Year, a UNL Christa McAuliffe Special Recognition Teacher, a John Wallace Fellow, and a United Way Volunteer Resource Center Outstanding Community Service Awardee.
Ms. Vaughan’s certifications include a Natural Science Endorsement and a Certificate of Urban Education, which she received from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She has a B.S. and an M.S. in education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.